100 POSTERS
When Art + Words Changed The World
When you think of posters, which one is the first to come to mind? Whichever one it is, the intent of the poster was successful if you can still recall the image or message. “Every poster’s principle message is “look at me!” Until it caught your eye, nothing else matters. Only once it has grabbed attention can it proceed to sell you whatever it is selling–ideas or goods. A plea for morality or a temptation to sin,” writes Colin Slater in his new book 100 Posters That Changed The World (Rizzoli).
Slater’s book charts the history of the poster and showcases the most impactful designs of the last 300 years. He explains how the art form took off in the late 19th century and the influence painters Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha had on this medium. Posters are both works of art and printed artifacts that memorialize the past.
One of the most famous posters is Uncle Sam’s I WANT YOU FOR THE U.S. ARMY. It was created in 1917 and used during both WWI and WWII as a call to action. Since then, it has been used and lampooned. Its original purpose was to appeal to your subconscious, your sense of patriotism. Some wartime posters convey political messages, like the iconic Keep Calm and Carry On. The poster was produced just before WWII by the British government to boost morale before the airstrikes bombed cities.
Posters also celebrate leaders we admire, the social issues we support and celebrities we idolize. During the civil rights movement, the I Am a Man poster declared independence against oppression. The Barack Obama HOPE poster is an image of the president designed by artist Shepard Fairey which was viewed as iconic and represented his 2008 presidential campaign. For the adolescent boy in the ’70s, Farrah Fawcett’s red swimsuit poster was likely hanging on the back of his door. As the best-selling poster of all time, twenty million copies, it sealed Farrah Fawcett’s status as a 1970’s icon. Often referred to as the first summer blockbuster, the film JAWS scared the “you know what” out of moviegoers. The poster was a reminder of the horror and fear of the great white shark that terrorized a beach community.
“We can’t say definitively who hung the first poster, or when. Was it an ancient Roman entrepreneur announcing attractions at the local amphitheater? Or an ancient Greek democrat appealing for your vote?,” writes Slater, but “One thing is certain: they were trying to draw eyes to their message.”
100 Posters That Changed The World by Colin Slater will be available October 2020.
